Chapter 2

Looking back now, Adele's smile was so bright, it almost stung to look at.

I pushed the hundred dollars right back at him, keeping only the ten dollars.

I spat out each word, "No, thanks. I only want what's rightfully mine."

With that, I turned and went to my bedroom to grab my ID.

I headed straight to the nearest bank.

I handed my ID to the teller.

"Hi, I'd like to check the transaction history for all my bank accounts over the past three years," I said.

The printer spat out hundreds of pages of transaction records.

I stood frozen in the bank lobby, hugging the stack tightly to my chest.

I read through them one by one.

Starting from my freshman year of high school, my mom had deposited 300 thousand dollars into my account at midnight on the first day of every month.

Sometimes, she'd throw in an extra million dollars.

Whenever there was extra, there was always a little note.

[Happy birthday, my precious girl.]

[My baby's got exams coming up. Here's a little extra to help you study.]

[It's your first day in high school. In my heart, you'll always be my little girl.]

But every single time, the money never stayed in my account for more than five minutes.

It all got wiped out in one big transfer.

All that was left was ten dollars.

By the time I got to the end, my chest was heaving with anger, my breath shaky and uneven.

My dad became a live-in son-in-law in my mom's family.

They had a son and a daughter. Jason took my dad's last name, and I took my mom's.

But even so, my dad always acted like I was his favorite. No matter what happened, he'd always make Jason let me have my way.

I still remember it.

When I was six, I got really sick.

Dad spent seven days in a church, praying for my health.

Jason was crying his eyes out, desperately pleading with the doctors to give me any of his healthy organs, as long as it would help me recover.

That was why I never doubted a single thing they said. I trusted them completely.

Big, heavy tears fell onto the papers.

I gritted my teeth, forcing myself not to make a sound.

With shaky hands, I meticulously gathered up every single transaction record.

*****

The next day, I arrived at school. Everyone in the class surrounded Adele.

Adele was all smiles, showing off a high-end custom bracelet on her wrist.

She said, "It's a global limited edition. I mentioned I wanted it, and my dad said he got a project payment of over 300 thousand dollars yesterday, so he bought it for me right away."

The whole class erupted in jealous exclamations.

I was chewing on a dry, flavorless bun.

With just 10 dollars a month to live on, breakfast was the only meal I could actually eat my fill of.

The next second, Adele stuck her hand right in my face, showing off on purpose.

She flashed a dazzling, smug smile.

"Sharon, isn't it pretty?" Adele said.

I couldn't miss the challenge and pride in her eyes.

I gave a short laugh. "Well, anything looks good when you didn't have to pay for it yourself."

Some of the other students couldn't stand it and started making snide remarks at me.

"Adele, don't even bother with her. She's so broke she's gone crazy with envy. She's jealous that your parents actually spend money on you."

"Yeah, seriously! Who cares if the money isn't Adele's? Her family loves to spoil her."

Adele didn't get mad. She smiled like she was above it all.

She said, "It's fine. I heard Sharon only gets 10 dollars a month for living expenses. I mean, I'd be pretty salty too if I were her."

The whole class burst out laughing.

"10 dollars a month? My cat's food costs 100 dollars a month!"

"She must be adopted or something."

I kept my cool, refusing to let their mocking laughter rattle me.

I swallowed the last dry bite of my bun.

I stood up and met Adele's gaze with steady eyes.

"You know, yesterday was the day my mom wired me my allowance," I said.

Adele was caught off guard by my question.

I gave her a knowing smile. "My mom sent me my allowance yesterday, and your dad's project payment came in on the exact same day. Funny how that works, isn't it?"

I watched as Adele's smile stiffened, stuck awkwardly on her lips.

I had just stepped out of the classroom when I bumped into my homeroom teacher.

She looked clearly embarrassed, trying to find the right words.

"Sharon, the results for the scholarship you applied for are out," she said.

Seeing the awkward look on her face, I already knew what was coming.

My heart kept sinking.

I followed her to the principal's office.

The scholarship that should've been mine was handed over to Adele instead.

The principal was still fumbling for an explanation. He said my mom had specifically called the school to request that the scholarship be given to Adele.

I didn't bother calling him out on his pathetic lie.

I stared blankly at the scholarship amount posted on the wall.

To Adele, 1,000 dollars was just pocket change. It was barely enough for her single dress.

But when I applied for that scholarship a month ago, I was hoping I could finally eat my fill for once.

Maybe even crash at a hotel for a night to enjoy some AC.

I didn't say a word. I turned to my homeroom teacher and asked to borrow her phone.

The principal stared at me, completely stunned.

"Sharon, what are you doing?" he blurted out.

I smiled calmly as I made the call.

"I'm reporting this to the police. Family or not, they have no right to decide if I get the scholarship," I said.

The principal's face went pale in an instant.

He whipped out his phone, clearly desperate to call someone.

The police arrived quickly, with my dad and Jason trailing behind, both sweating and looking anxious.

The moment Dad walked in, he tried to grab my arm.

"Sharon, don't make a scene. Let's talk about this at home," Dad said.

I slipped out of his grasp and looked right at the police officer, my voice steady and clear.

I said, "Officer, my family has been abusing me for three years. They only give me 10 dollars a month to live on, and now they've handed my scholarship over to someone else."

His face hardened as he fixed his gaze on Dad and Jason.

"Are you her guardians? Is what she said really true?" he demanded.

Jason jumped in, ready to explain himself.

But I deliberately cut him off, making sure my voice was the first thing the officer heard.

I said, "Officer, please don't get the wrong idea. According to my dad and brother, it was my mom who insisted on all of this."

The lead officer immediately turned to his team and barked out orders.

"Call her mother right now and verify everything," he said.

My dad's and Jason's faces went pale, the color draining from their cheeks.

Dad kept giving the principal frantic looks.

The principal rushed over with a nervous, ingratiating smile.

He said, "Officer, it was an error on our part. We'll switch the scholarship back to Sharon and announce it right away. It's all a misunderstanding. Nothing serious!"

Jason gently took my hand and softened his voice. "Sharon, I know Mom's discipline was way too harsh. But we're family, right? Whatever problems we have, let's settle them in private."

Dad was quick to chime in, backing Jason up without missing a beat. "Yeah, yeah, I swear, from now on your allowance will be back to normal."

He fumbled with his phone, hands shaking, and transferred 1,700 dollars to my account right then and there.

Seeing this, the officer's expression finally softened.

But he still chewed out Dad and Jason, kept telling them not to mistreat me anymore, then took off.

The car ride home was dead silent.

Dad's face was cold and grim; he didn't say a single word.

As soon as we pulled into the neighborhood, Dad slammed on the brakes and turned to look at me, his eyes more brooding than I'd ever seen.

"You know everything now," he said.

It wasn't a question. It was a statement.